Los Angeles Dodgers Trade For Manny Ramirez

On July 31, 2009, in a three-way trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Boston Red Sox trade Manny Ramirez to the Los Angeles Dodgers for fellow outfielder Jason Bay. A few other players were swapped, with the Pirates ending up with four minor league prospects. Manny had been the best hitter on the Red Sox by miles, but his constantly aggravating behavior caused a riff in the clubhouse.

Just a few days earlier, he told ESPN Deportes, "The Red Sox don't deserve a player like me. During my years here, I've seen how they [the Red Sox] have mistreated other great players when they didn't want them to try to turn the fans against them. The Red Sox did the same with guys like Nomar Garciaparra and Pedro Martinez, and now they do the same with me."

 

Bay did okay with the Red Sox, but he was nowhere near as good as Manny was in L.A. Revitalized in a new city that completely embraced him, Ramirez single-handedly carried the Dodgers to the postseason. In his 53 games with the team, Manny batted .396 with 17 home runs and 53 RBI. He was even better in the postseason, producing 13 hits in 25 at-bats, 4 home runs, and 10 RBI in eight games. His numbers were so incredible that Red Sox players began calling him out, claiming that he had been dogging it so that he could be traded.

"The day he realized that they were not going to sign him to an extension was the day he said, 'Uncle. I'm done,'" former teammate Curt Schilling said in September of that year. "The fact of the matter was, you looked at a guy who, at the end of the day, when you look back on the history, never, ever cared about any of us."

Had Ramirez not been 36 years old, he would have fetched one of the largest contracts in MLB history. Instead, he and agent Scott Boras had to "settle" with a two-year $45 million extension with the Dodgers.

Kevin Garnett Traded To Boston Celtics

On July 31, 2007, after weeks and weeks and weeks of speculation, after rumored trades with the Lakers, Suns, and Warriors fell to the wayside, the Minnesota Timberwolves trade Kevin Garnett to the Boston Celtics for Al Jefferson, Sebastian Telfair, Theo Ratliff, Ryan Gomes, Gerald Green, and two first round draft picks. The Boston Celtics traded ten current and future players, essentially everyone but Paul Pierce, in order to acquire Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett. It payed off though, as the threesome of Pierce, Allen, and Garnett was easily the best trio in the NBA.

The anticipation for the Celtics season was instant. In the span of one week, the Celtics' odds of winning the title went from 100-1 to 5-1. By opening day, Boston had sold out 94% of their home tickets for the season. And with the additions of James Posey, Eddie House, and P.J. Brown, the Celtics did not disappoint. They began the season 8-0 and never looked back, finishing with a league-best 66 wins.

Boston struggled to maintain their excellence in the postseason. Both their first and second round series with the Hawks and Cavaliers went seven games, and they even trailed in the third round to the Detroit Pistons. Ray Allen was atrocious the first two and half rounds of the playoffs, but he got it going late in the Conference Finals. He then played great in the NBA Finals, helping the Celtics beat the L.A. Lakers and win their first title in over two decades.

The Celtics' acquisition of a future Hall of Famer in Kevin Garnett was the best thing to happen to the NBA in a while. They were coming off a terrible season that included a horribly-rated Spurs-Cavaliers Finals and the revelation that one of their officials was fixing games. Getting the attention off of the negative, and back onto the glory of a Celtics-Lakers Finals, was just what the doctor ordered.

Two Philadelphia Phillies Get Inducted Into Hall of Fame

On July 30, 1995, two Philadelphia Phillies Richie Ashburn and Mike Schmidt get inducted into Cooperstown Major League Baseball Hall of Fame.

Don Richard "Richie" Ashburn also known by the nicknames, "Putt-Putt", "The Tilden Flash", and "Whitey" due to his light-blond hair, was a center fielder, which played 15 seasons in the MLB between 1948 and 1962 for the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs and the New York Mets.

Ashburn was of the famous "Whiz Kids" of the National League champion 1950 Phillies.

Ashburn finished his career with a .308 batting average with 2,574 hits, which included 317 doubles, 109 triples and 29 home runs. He also had 1,198 walks 1,322 runs scored, 586 RBIs and 234 steals while only striking out 571 times.

Ashburn was a six-time All-Star, including twice in 1962, when the MLB held two All-Star Games during the season. He was also a two-time National League Batting Title champion. Twice during his career Ashburn was in the top 10 in Most Valuable Player (MVP) voting.

The Philadelphia Phillies retired his No. 1 jersey in 1979.

Ashburn was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Hall's Veterans Committee in 1995 after a long fan campaign to induct him, which included bumper stickers that read, "Richie Ashburn: Why The Hall Not?"

Ashburn was inducted into The Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia Hall of Fame in 1997.

Ashburn was also inducted into the inaugural class of the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame in 2004.

Each year the Phillies present the Richie Ashburn Special Achievement Award to "a member of the organization who has demonstrated loyalty, dedication and passion for the game."

The center-field entertainment area at the Phillies current stadium, Citizens Bank Park, is named Ashburn Alley in his honor in response to the demand of numerous fans requesting that the Phillies name the stadium in Ashburn's honor (due to Ashburn's 47 seasons of service to the Phillies organization, which was second in length in Philadelphia baseball history only to Connie Mack, who was so honored with the renaming of Shibe Park in 1953).

At Citizens Bank Park the Phillies' radio-broadcast booth is named "The Richie 'Whitey' Ashburn Broadcast Booth". It is directly next to the TV-broadcast booth, which was renamed "The Harry Kalas Broadcast Booth" after Kalas's death in 2009.

As for Mike Schmidt, he is widely considered as one of the greatest third baseman in the history of Major League Baseball. He played his entire 18-year career with the Philadelphia Phillies.

Schmidt finish his career with a .267 batting average, 2,234 hits, which included 408 doubles, 59 triples and 548 home runs. He also compiled 1,595 RBIs, 1,506 runs scored, 1,507 walks and 174 steals while striking out 1,883 times.

Schmidt led the league in walks four times, including three consecutive years from 1981-1983. He also led the league in runs once, 1981 when he scored 78 runs.

Schmidt was a 12-time All-Star including six consecutive selections from 1979-1984. He was a three-time National League MVP, including back-to-back awards in 1980-1981. He was in the top 10 in MVP voting in nine times, including five consecutive years from 1980-1984.

He was a 10-time Gold Glove winner including nine-consecutive awards from 1976-1984. He was an eight-time National League home run champion including three-consecutive years from 1974-1976. He was a six-time Silver Slugger Award winner including five-consecutive awards from 1980-1984. He was a four-time National League RBI Champion, including back-to-back awards in 1980-1981.

Schmidt was a member of the 1980 Philadelphia Phillies who won the World Series, and was named the World Series MVP.

In 1983 Schmidt was awarded the Lou Gehrig Memorial Award.

In 1990 the Philadelphia Phillies retired his No. 20 jersey.

In 1995 he was inducted into the Cooperstown MLB Hall of Fame with 96.5 percent of the vote on the first ballot in which he was on.

In 1997 he was named to the MLB All-Time Team and in 1999 he named to the MLB All-Century Team.

Willie McCovey Makes Major League Debut

On July 30, 1959, in his major league debut, San Francisco Giants first baseman Willie McCovey goes 4-for-4 against Hall of Famer Robin Roberts.

McCovey nicknamed "Mac", "Big Mac", and "Stretch", is a former Major League Baseball first baseman. He played nineteen seasons for the San Francisco Giants, and three more for the San Diego Padres and Oakland Athletics, between 1959 and 1980.

McCovey finished his career with a .270 batting average with 2,211 hits, which included 353 doubles, 46 triples, and 521 home runs. He also had 1,345 walks, 1,555 RBIs, 1,229 runs scored and 26 steals while striking out 1,550 times.

Three times McCovey led the league in home runs, where he won the National League Home Run Champion award, including back-to-back years in 1968-1969.

He also won the National League RBI Champion award in back-to-back years in 1968-1969.

McCovey was the 1969 National League MVP when he hit for his highest single season total of home runs, 45; his highest single season RBI total, 126; and hit for a .320 batting average, his highest single season total with more than 52 games played. McCovey was in the top 10 in MVP voting four times during his career, including three consecutive years from 1968-1970.

McCovey was a six-time All-Star, including four consecutive appearances from 1968-1971. In 1969 McCovey was also the MLB All-Star Game MVP.

In 1977 McCovey won the National League Comeback Player of the Year award in his first year back with the San Francisco Giants after three years with the San Diego Padres and Oakland Athletics.

He was also awarded the Hutch Award, which is given annually to an active Major League Baseball (MLB) player who "best exemplifies the fighting spirit and competitive desire" of Fred Hutchinson, by persevering through adversity. The award was created in 1965 in honor of Hutchinson, the former MLB pitcher and manager, who died of lung cancer the previous year.

The Hutch Award was created by Hutch's longtime friends Bob Prince, a broadcaster for the Pittsburgh Pirates and KDKA; Jim Enright, a Chicago sportswriter; and Ritter Collett, the sports editor of the Dayton Journal Herald.^[3] They also created a scholarship fund for medical students engaged in cancer research to honor Hutchinson's memory.

McCovey is just one of 11 Hall of Fame members to be awarded the Hutch Award.

The San Francisco Giants have retired McCovey’s no. 44 jersey and present the Willie Mac Award annually to the player that best exemplifies the spirit and leadership shown by Willie McCovey throughout his career.

In 1986 McCovey was elected into Cooperstown MLB Hall of Fame with 81.4 percent of the vote on the first ballot in which he was on.

In September 2003, McCovey and a business partner opened McCovey's Restaurant, a baseball-themed sports bar and restaurant, located in Walnut Creek, California.

Philadelphia Phillies Retire Steve Carlton's Jersey

On July 29, 1989, the Philadelphia Phillies retire the No. 32 formerly worn by Steve Carlton.  

Carlton spent 15 seasons as a member of the Phillies and joined Richie Ashburn (No. 1), Jim Bunning (No. 14), Mike Schmidt (No. 20) and Robin Roberts (No. 36) as the only men to have their numbers retired by Philadelphia.

Steve Carlton enjoyed the best years of his career while playing for the Philadelphia Phillies.  He joined the club in 1972 and made seven all-star appearances.  

He also led Philadelphia to a World Series title in 1980 and in that same season he won his third of four career Cy Young awards.

Along with the five men that have their numbers retired by the Phillies, there is also Jackie Robinson’s No. 42 that is retired by every team in Major League Baseball.  

Also, Grover Cleveland played in the era before MLB used uniform numbers, so he is honored with the letter “P”, along with Chuck Klein, who wore a variety of numbers with the Phillies throughout his career.

Barry Sanders Announces Retirement From NFL

On July 28, 1999, Barry Sanders was well on his way to shattering Walter Payton's rushing record. At age 30, he could have ascended the ranks of the greatest players of all time -- he compiled statistics in his first nine years that were on par with those of Jim Brown, widely regarded as the best NFL player ever. He even brought prosperity to one of the most notoriously awful sports franchises in America: the Detroit Lions.

So you can imagine what a shock it was when on this day in 1999, Barry Sanders formally announced his retirement from the game of football. When the media tried to get in touch with him, they couldn't, as he was already on a plane to Europe.

Many were skeptical that Barry's retirement was some sort of hold-out and that eventually he would come back. He had six years left on his contract and was only 30. He had to come back, why wouldn't he?

But Sanders didn't come back, ever, and he left the Lions without their star player. Detroit made the playoffs in 1999 but would struggle mightily over the next decade, even suffering an 0-16 season in 2008.

In his 2003 autobiography, Barry Sanders revealed an explanation for his abrupt departure. Sanders was unhappy with the Lions' downward spiral over the years, particularly the disassembling of the '91 team that nearly made it to the Super Bowl. "When they got rid of Kevin Glover," Sanders wrote, "They convinced me that their goal wasn't anywhere close to being about winning games. I didn't realize it at the time, but part of me left with him, just as part of me left with those other guys I mentioned."

In the end, the losing culture of the Lions and their bungling management took its toll on Sanders. "I didn't see what good there was in hanging around when the organization wasn't trying to put together a winning team. Looking at what other teams in our division had done... I didn't think we were as serious about winning as our competitors." Sanders also wrote that there were tears in his eyes on the last day of the 1998 season, a 19-10 loss to the Bengals. "I knew it was over."

Sanders finished his career as second on the All-Time rushing list, behind only “Sweetness” Walter Payton. Since his retirement in 1999, Emmit Smith broke the All-Time rushing record and now Sanders is ranked third with 15,269 yards and 109 touchdowns.

Some of Sanders accomplishments include: 10 consecutive Pro-Bowl selections, six-time First-Team All-Pro, 1989 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, 1991 NFL Bert Bell Award (Player of the Year), 1994 NFL Offensive Player of the Year, 1997 NFL MVP, 1997 Bert Bell Award, 1997 NFL Offensive Player of the Year. As well being named to the NFL’s 1990’s All-Decade Team,

Sanders was also rated the no. 1 Most Elusive Running Back of All-Time by NFL.com and rated the no. 17 NFL Player of All-Time by NFL.com.

Sanders was inducted into Canton’s NFL Football Hall of Fame in 2004.

Check out the video below of Sanders' Top 10 plays Sports Center style:

Texas Rangers' Kenny Rogers Pitches A Perfect Game

On July 28, 1994, Texas Ranger Kenny Rogers pitches the fourteenth perfect game in MLB history against the California Angels 4-0.

Rogers followed Lee Richmond, Monte Ward, Cy Young, Addie Joss, Charlie Robertson, Don Larsen, Jim Bunning, Sandy Koufax, Catfish Hunter, Len Barker, Mike Witt and Dennis Martinez in throwing perfect games.

Since Rogers’ perfect game David Wells, David Cone, and Randy Johnson, Mark Buehrle, Dallas Braden, Roy Halladay, Phillip Humber, Matt Cain and Felix Hernandez have all achieved perfect game status.

The shortest span of time between perfect games throw was just five days between Richmond’s perfect game on June 12, 1880 and Ward’s perfect game on June 17, 1880. The longest span between perfect games is just under 24 years, between Ward’s perfect game on June 17, 1880 and Young’s perfect game on May 5, 1904.

The American League has seen 14 prefect games while the National League only nine times.

No single player has ever thrown more than one perfect game.

The most perfect games for a single team is three as the Chicago White Sox and New York Yankees have had perfect games pitched. However, only two of the Yankees perfect games came in the regular season, with Larsen’s perfect game coming in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series against the Brooklyn Dodgers, meaning the Chicago White Sox have more regular season perfect games.

Larsen’s perfect game in the World Series was the first and last time a perfect game has been thrown in the playoffs, let alone the World Series.

The team with the most perfect games pitched against them is the Tampa Bay Rays, with three. All of them coming since 2009 with Chicago White Sox Buehrle, Oakland Athletics Braden, and Seattle Mariners Hernandez all doing the feat against the Rays.

The 2012 season saw the most perfect games in a single season as Cain, Hernandez and Humber all pitched perfect games in one season, the most since 2010 when Braden and Halladay both pitched perfect games.

Rogers would finish his career four All-Star appearances including three consecutive from 2004-2006. He was a five-time Gold Glove winner including three consecutive from 2004-2006.He was honored with a Fielding Bible Award in 2008 as the top fielding pitcher in MLB.

Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane stated that Rogers "Was the best fielding pitcher he ever saw. It's like having an extra infielder".

He was a World Series Champion in 1996 with the New York Yankees and was inducted into the Texas Rangers Hall of Fame in 2011.

Rogers ended his 20-season career with 219 wins and 156 losses and 28 saves in 762 games with 474 starts in 3,302.2 innings pitched. He totaled a 4.27 ERA with 1,968 strikeouts and just 1,175 walks. Rogers would throw 36 complete games, with his highest single season total coming in 1998 with the Oakland Athletics, with seven. He also had nine shutouts, with his highest single season total coming in 1994 with the Texas Rangers, he threw two that season, one being the perfect game against the California Angels.

Rogers led the league in games pitched in 1992 with 81 games, and led the game in games started in 2004 with 35.

Rogers is second all-time in pickoffs with 93 in his career. On May 9, 2008 against the New York Yankees, Rogers picked off Wilson Betemit in the second inning for his ninty-second pick-off, passing Mark Langston.

The all-time leader in pickoffs is Dodgers great Sandy Koufax, another member of the perfect game crew.

Check out the final three outs from Rogers' perfect game:

Montreal Expos' Dennis Martinez Pitches Perfect Game

On July 28, 1991, Montreal Expos’ Dennis Martinez pitches the thirteenth perfect game in Major League Baseball history against the Los Angeles Dodgers 2-0.

Martinez followed Lee Richmond, Monte Ward, Cy Young, Addie Joss, Charlie Robertson, Don Larsen, Jim Bunning, Sandy Koufax, Catfish Hunter, Len Barker, Mike Witt in throwing perfect games.

Since Martinez’ perfect game Kenny Rogers, David Wells, David Cone, and Randy Johnson, Mark Buehrle, Dallas Braden, Roy Halladay, Phillip Humber, Matt Cain and Felix Hernandez have all achieved perfect game status.

Martinez would finish his career with four All-Star appearnces, including three consecutive appearances from 1990-1992. He was a World Series Champion in 1983 with the Baltimore Orioles. He was also in the top five in CY Young Award voting twice and in the running for the MVP award twice.

Martinez nicknamed “El Presidente” would finish his 23-season career with 245 wins and 193 losses and eight saves in 692 games with 562 starts over 3,999.2 innings pitched. He totaled a 3.70 ERA with 2,149 strikeouts and just 1,165 walks. Martinez would throw 122 complete games, with his highest total, and a season high of 18 coming in 1979. He also had 30 shutouts with his highest single season total coming in 1991 when he threw five, one of them being the perfect game against the Dodgers.

Martinez led the league in wins in 1981 with 14, while in 1991 he led the league in ERA with a 2.39 mark.

Martinez is the all-time winningest Latin American pitcher with his 245 wins, setting the record on Aug. 9, 1998 with win number 244.

Check out the video below of the final out from El Presidente's perfect game: 

Cincinnati Reds' Pete Rose Breaks Singles Record

On July 27, 1984, Cincinnati Reds Pete Rose collects his record-breaking career single 3,053 versus the Philadelphia Phillies, a team in which he played on for five years during the middle of his career.

Rose would total 4,256 hits in his career with 3,215 singles.

Rose finished his career with a .303 batting average, 4,256 hits, 746 doubles, 135 triples, 160 home runs, 1,314 RBIs, 2,165 runs scored, 198 stolen bases and 1,566 walks.

Rose has 67 more hits than Ty Cobb who is the second ranked player on the list, and nearly 500 more hits than Hank Aaron who is ranked third all-time. Rose would also earn 17 more Major League records during his career, the most notable behind the hits record is most career games played, 3,562, which is 254 more than Carl Yastrzemski of the Boston Red Sox who played in 3,308 games between 1961 and 1983.

Over the course of his career Rose played every single game of the season eight times, and five times led the league in games played. Rose led the league in batting average three times, with his highest single season average being .348 in 1969. He led the league in hits seven times with his highest single season hit total 230, coming in 1973. He also led the league in runs scored four times. His highest single season total of runs scored came in 1976 with 130 runs scored.

Rose would win the National League Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award in 1973 and was in the top 10 in MVP voting 10 times over his career. 1973 also was a season Rose was the National League batting champion. Rose was a three time World Series Champion in 1975, 1976 with the Reds and 1980 with the Phillies.

Rose won the Rookie of the Year award in 1963, was a Gold Glove winner twice, and a Silver Slugger once.

Rose would be selected to 17 All-Star games in his 24-season career. The most famous occurrence of Rose in an All-Star game came in 1970, when Rose smashed into then Cleveland Indians catcher Ray Fosse on a play at the plate. Rose would give Fosse a separated shoulder with the incident, but scored the winning run in the process.

Rose even though the all-time hit leader in MLB, and owner of over 17 Major League records has not been elected into Cooperstown the baseball Hall of Fame because of gambling on baseball.

Greg Maddux Records 3,000th Strikeout

On July 26, 2005, that Greg Maddux became the thirteenth member of the 3000-strikeout club.  Maddux struck out Omar Vizquel in front of his home crowd at Wrigley Field, however, the Cubs would go on to lose the game 3-2 to the Giants.

Greg Maddux enjoyed an incredible career that started in Chicago as a member of the Cubs.  After winning the CY Young award in 1992, Maddux left Chicago via free agency and joined the Atlanta Braves.  He would go on to win the Cy Young his first three seasons with the Braves, becoming the first pitcher in history to win the award four consecutive times.  In addition to his four Cy Young’s, Maddux was an 18 time Gold Glove winner, eight time All-Star selection and a member of the 1995 World Series championship Atlanta Braves.

Maddux would finish his career with 3,371 strikeouts ranking him 10 all-time for most strikeouts in the Major Leagues.

The list of 3000 strikeout pitchers includes in this orde

r from most to least, Nolan Ryan, 5,714, Randy Johnson, 4,875, Roger Clemens, 4,672, Steve Carlton, 4,136, Bert Blyleven, 3,701, Tom Seaver, 3,640, Don Sutton, 3,574, Gaylord Perry, 3,534, Walter Johnson, 3,509, Greg Maddux, 3,371, Phil Niekro, 3,342, Ferguson Jenkins, 3,192, Pedro Martinez, 3,154, Bob Gibson, 3,117, Curt Schilling, 3,116 and John Smoltz, 3,084.

Smoltz was a teammate of Maddux from 1993-2003 on the Braves in which they were part of the ‘Big Three’, which included Maddux, Smoltz and Tom Glavine.

Also to note is that the Braves had three members on the 3,000 strikeout club, with Maddux, Niekro and Smoltz, even though none of the three who are on the list got there 3,000 strikeout in a Braves jersey.

The 3,000-strikeout club might become more elusive as the closest pitcher to the feat is 47-year-old Jamie Moyer. Moyer is the active leader in strikeouts with 2,405 but is currently a free agent after being released by the Toronto Blue Jays AAA affiliate. Because of this Moyer will most likely not reach 3,000, and with the way the game has changed in recent years, one wonders if we will ever see another pitcher join the elusive 3,000 strikeout club.

Tomorrow Greg Maddux will be inducted into Cooperstown Hall of Fame with former teammate and manager Tom Glavine and  Bobby Cox. Also joining Maddux, Glavine and Cox in Cooperstown will be former White Sox MVP Frank Thomas and two of the winningest managers in MLB history; Tony La Russa and Joe Torre.

Check out the video below of Maddux recording 3,000th strikeout:

Robert Irsay And Carroll Rosenbloom Trade NFL Franchises

On July 26, 1972, in a truly unprecedented move, Robert Irsay, the owner of the Baltimore Colts and Carroll Rosenbloom, the owner of the Los Angeles Rams, trade ownership of their NFL teams.

Rosenbloom wanted to retain ownership of a team while living in a more profitable city, one that would satisfy his wife's ambition to live on the west coast and his ambition to escape the D.C. press. Meanwhile, former Colts assistant Joe Thomas was itching to become the general manager of a franchise, but there weren't any offers. Then, when Rams owner Dan Reeves passed away, Thomas convinced his good friend Irsay to buy the Rams for $19 million – in exchange; Irsay would immediately become the owner of the Colts, then Rosenbloom the Rams'. Irsay, who was looking to become an NFL owner anyway, also received an additional three million dollars in the transaction, while Thomas was rewarded with the general manager position of the Baltimore Colts.

Today, a swap like this would be impossible to pull off. Not only are even the lowliest of sports teams worth hundreds of millions of dollars, many of the teams are now owned by corporations and a group of people, rather than just one wealthy individual.

In the end, football fans in both Baltimore and Los Angeles wound up getting screwed. The Colts failed to win a single playoff game under Irsay and eventually moved to Indianapolis. L.A. fans were initially on the much better end of the spectrum, as the Rams made the postseason in every year that Rosenbloom was their owner. But in 1979, Carroll mysteriously drowned to death while swimming in the Atlantic Ocean, and control of the team was handed over to his wife, Georgia Frontiere. Georgia then moved the team to Anaheim, married her seventh husband, and in the mid-90's, she moved the Rams out of California altogether and to St. Louis, Missouri.

However, the franchises involved in the deal and the cities where the teams played would end up winning Super Bowl anyways.

Los Angeles would be the first city of the bunch to win a Super Bowl; in 1984 the Raiders beat the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl XVIII (28), 38-9.

The St. Louis Rams and the Baltimore Ravens would both win Super Bowls in the early 2000’s as the Rams beat the Tennessee Titans in Super Bowl XXXIV (34), 23-16. Finally the Ravens beat the New York Giants in Super Bowl XXXV (35), 34-7.

The Colts who moved to Indianapolis in 1984 would win the Super Bowl in the late 2000’s against the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XLI (41) 29-17.

Boston Red Sox Hall Of Famer Lefty Grove Earns 300th Win

On July 25, 1941, Red Sox Lefty Grove becomes just the twelfth pitcher to win 300-games, it was also his last victory.

At the time Grove joined Cy Young, 511; Walter Johnson, 417; Christy Matthewson, 373; Grover Cleveland Alexander, 373; Pud Galvin, 364; Kid Nichols, 361; Tim Keeke, 342; John Clarkson, 328; Eddie Plank, 326; Charles Radbourn, 309 and Mickey Welch, 307 as members of the 300 win club.

After Grover joined the 300-win club 12 pitchers have since joined the club. In chronological order they are Warren Spahn, 363; Early Wynn, 300; Gaylord Perry, 314; Steve Carlton, 329; Tom Seaver, 311; Phil Niekro, 318; Don Sutton, 324; Nolan Ryan, 324; Roger Clemens, 354; Greg Maddux, 355; Tom Glavine, 305 and Randy Johnson, 303.

Grove pitched for the Philadelphia Athletics and Boston Red Sox during his 17 year career. He was a two-time World Series Champion, both with the Philadelphia Athletics in 1929 and 1930. In 1931 he was named the American League MVP. He was also a six-time All-Star including five straight appearances from 1935-1939.

Grove finished his career with 300 wins and 141 losses and 55 saves, in 616 games with 457 starts over 3,940.2 innings pitched. He accumulated a 3.06 ERA, with 2,266 strikeouts, 1,187 walks and allowing just 162 home runs over his career.

Grove was a 30 game winner once, and a 20 game winner eight times, with seven consecutive seasons with 20 or more wins from 1927-1933. Nine times Gove led the league in ERA, with his lowest single season ERA of 2.06 in 1931. In seven consecutive years Grove led the MLB in strikeouts with his highest single season total coming in 1930 with 209 strikeouts.

Grove pitched 298 complete games and had 35 shutouts. Three times he led the league in complete games and three times he led the league in shutouts. His highest total for complete games in a single season was 27, which he did in back-to-back seasons, 1931-1932. His highest single season tot

al for shutouts was in 1936 when he had six shutouts.

In 1947 Grove was elected to the Cooperstown Major League Baseball Hall of Fame with 76.4 percent of the vote on the third ballot in which he appeared.

In 1998 Grove ranked as no. 23 on the The Sporting News list of Baseball's Greatest Players. He was just the second left-handed pitcher listed behind Warren Spahn, third when Babe Ruth was counted as a pitcher.

In 1999 Grove was named as a member of the Major League Baseball All-Century Team.

Vince Coleman Throws Firecrackers At Fans

On July 24, 1993, Vince Coleman gets in trouble for throwing firecrackers at a group of fans outside of a ball game.

Coleman was one of the fastest base runners the game of baseball had ever seen, compiling multiple seasons with more than 100 stolen bases and even stealing a record 50 in a row in 1989.

After leading the league in stolen bases the first six seasons of his career, Coleman left the St. Louis Cardinals to sign a large deal with the New York Mets – where his productivity took a nosedive. He did not live up to his massive three million dollar salary and failed to even keep out of trouble.

He feuded with Jeff Torborg, scuffled with a batting coach, claimed that Shea Stadium's aesthetics were preventing him from being a Hall of Famer, cost Dwight Gooden a start when he accidentally wacked him with a golf club, and was even accused of a raping woman in 1991, although no charges were ever filed.

But his most infamous moment came after a 5-4 extra-inning loss in Los Angeles. Coleman and Bobby Bonilla were in the passenger's seat of a car, driven by teammate Eric Davis, when they pulled up in front of Dodgers Stadium, where a few hundred fans were exiting. Coleman, as a practical joke, hurled a firecracker into the throng of people before they drove away laughing. The citizens involved weren't laughing though; the explosion injured several people, including a 33 -year old woman, an 11 year-old boy and the eyesight, cheek, and finger of two year-old Amanda Santos.

Coleman would play in three more games before the Mets dismissed him for the rest of the season (albeit with pay). He was given three years probation, 200 hours of community service, and an additional $2,500 in fines. It took him several days to apologize, and when he did, he offered the following statement: "I'm a father first and an athlete second. Amanda stood out near a gate to catch a glimpse of a ballplayer. But today, I want her to catch a glimpse of a loving father and a helpful friend."

The next season, he was traded to the Kansas City Royals.

George Brett And The 'Pine Tar Incident'

On July 24, 1983, George Brett and the ‘pine tar incident' make headlines.

It was the top of the ninth at Yankee Stadium. With two out and a man on first, Royals third baseman George Brett was at the plate, with New York closer Goose Gossage on the mound. In the matchup between two future Hall of Famers, Brett got the upper hand, hammering a pitch into the right field bleachers. The home run gave the Royals a 5-4 lead.

Yankees third baseman Graig Nettles had noticed earlier in the year that Brett used a large amount of pine tar on his bat (as many hitters did to grip the bat better). Nettles was aware of an obscure baseball rule forbidding no more pine tar on a bat than the width of the plate (18 inches), and that Brett appeared to violate this rule. Nettles who was caught using a corked bat nine years earlier, had informed manager Billy Martin of this previously in the year. Now that Brett had hit, barring a ninth inning rally, a game-winning home run, there was no better time to bring it up with the umpires.

Martin was already talking to home plate umpire Tim McClelland before Brett even touched home plate. McClelland summoned the other umps to the diamond to discuss it, and then rested the bat on the plate as Brett watched curiously from the dugout.

Instead of hitting the game-winning home run, he had been called out on violation -- ending the ballgame in a Yankees win.

Instantly, Brett bolted out of the dugout with his arms shaking and his eyes bulging. He approached McClelland and had to be restrained, as he appeared hysterically upset. The image of Brett's ballistic tirade is one of the most replayed highlights in sports history. "The video of me now is pretty hilarious," Brett said in the book, Once Upon a Game, "with me charging the umps, having to be held back, yelling and screaming and flailing my arms, but at the time it wasn't funny. It was highway robbery!"
During the commotion, Royals pitcher Gaylord Perry, a player also known for breaking a few rules, stole the bat from McClelland and carried it toward the dugout. He threw it to Rocky Colavito, who in turn passed it off to another Royals player before security intervened. The bat was confiscated by the umpires and sent to AL president Lee MacPhail.
The Royals filed a protest, claiming that the game had been unfairly taken away from them. In a rare occurrence from any of the four major sports leagues, the protest was upheld by MacPhail, who noted that while the pine tar extended 23 inches up the bat, and that technically it was illegal to use, Brett's bat "did not violate the spirit of the rules." In other words, while the bat should have been removed from the game, Brett shouldn't have been called out.
And so less than a month later, on August 18th, 1,245 dedicated sports fans walked into Yankee Stadium to see the game pick up right where it left off, right after Brett's home run. It was an odd site. Brett, Colavito, Perry, and manager Dick Howser had all been ejected three weeks ago, so none of them showed up to the ballpark. Meanwhile Billy Martin, who called the game's resumption three weeks after the fact "a mockery," staged his own protest by putting pitcher Rod Guidry in center field, because their center fielder from the July game (Jerry Mumphrey) had been traded. He also put first baseman Don Mattingly at second, making him the first lefty to play a middle-infield position in years.
The Yankees had filed an injunction to stop the game from continuing, however the c

ourts had ruled against them. Martin had one final trick to pull. Before Yankees pitcher George Frazier faced Hal McRae of the Royals, Martin went up to the umpires and argued that Brett had not touched all of the bases during his home run trot. There was a completely different umpire crew from the July game, and Martin figured they wouldn't be able to disprove him. But crew chief Davey Phillips was ready and produced an affidavit signed by the previous crew saying that the home run should stand.
Martin then took out his frustration on Phillips, yelling at him until he got ejected. George Frazier struck out McRae to retire the side. In the bottom of the ninth, the Yankees went down one-two-three to Royals closer Dan Quisenberry, at last finalizing a 5-4 Kansas City win, and ending probably the most intriguing baseball game ever played in July.

Brett would eventually donate the bat to the Hall of Fame, where it rests today.

 Check out the video below of Brett's 'pine tar incident':